No blame on you today
Joseph (peace be upon him) had every reason to want revenge. His brothers had thrown him into a well out of jealousy and sold him into slavery. He had been falsely accused and imprisoned. Years later, as a powerful minister in Egypt, he saw them standing in front of him, starving, asking for grain. They did not recognise him. He had all the power, and they had none.
The Qur'an tells how, when at last he made himself known, his brothers were terrified. They said: by God, God has preferred you above us, and we were truly in the wrong.
Joseph answered: “He said: Have no fear this day! May Allah forgive you, and He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.” (Qur'an 12:92 · Pickthall)
The Torah tells the same moment in Genesis 45. Joseph weeps so loudly the Egyptians hear him. He says: “Be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve life.” Later he says: “Ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20).
Muslims remember that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him), on entering Mecca as victor, quoted Joseph's words to the people who had driven him out.
What each faith says
Judaism
“Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.”
Leviticus 19:18 · JPS 1917
The Torah forbids personal revenge in the same verse that commands love: “Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” The Psalms call God “God to whom vengeance belongeth” (Psalm 94:1). Justice is His, not ours to seize.
Jewish law built courts, witnesses and limits precisely so that justice would not be left to personal anger.
The Talmud tells of Rabbi Meir praying for some local thugs to die. His wife, Beruriah, stopped him: the psalm says “let sins cease”, not sinners (Psalm 104:35). Pray that they repent, she said. He did, and they did (Talmud, Berakhot 10a).
Christianity
“Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.”
Romans 12:19-21 · WEB
Paul tells Christians not to take revenge but to leave room for God. He quotes the Torah: “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.” Then he goes further: feed your enemy if he is hungry, and overcome evil with good.
Christians remember Jesus praying for those who were harming him: “Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
After Coventry Cathedral was bombed in November 1940, Provost Richard Howard had the words “Father forgive” written in the ruins. The cathedral's Litany of Reconciliation, written in 1958, is still prayed there every weekday at noon.
Islam
“Aforetime, for a guidance to mankind; and hath revealed the Criterion (of right and wrong). Lo! those who disbelieve the revelations of Allah, theirs will be a heavy doom. Allah is Mighty, Able to Requite (the wrong).”
Qur'an 3:4 · Pickthall (1930)
The Qur'an calls God dhū ntiqām, “Lord of Retribution” (3:4), and uses the participle of His dealing with persistent wrongdoers (32:22). It is never the first word about Him. Every chapter but one begins “In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Kind”, and a hadith qudsi says: “My mercy outweighs My anger” (Bukhari 3194).
Scholars teach that this Name protects the wronged: no tyranny goes unanswered. It is paired with al-ʿAfuww and never used to frighten.
Same and different
Leviticus, Romans and the Qur'an all tell people to leave vengeance to God and to prefer forgiveness, and all three tell Joseph's story of mercy. All three teach that God's justice is real and His mercy greater. They differ on how mercy reaches the wrongdoer. Christians speak of forgiveness through Christ; Jews and Muslims of repentance and God's forgiveness directly. Judaism adds a firm rule: wrongs against people must first be put right with them (Mishnah Yoma 8:9).
A moment to reflect
- Have you ever wanted to pay someone back? What did you do?
- Why might it be a relief that justice belongs to God?
- Who would you find hardest to say 'no blame on you today' to?
Watch
A 60 Minutes archive report on Desmond Tutu and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
CBC News on the Newfoundland cod collapse and the lessons that followed.
Do it together
Read Genesis 45:1-15 and Qur'an 12:88-92 side by side. Ask each group to retell the scene from the brothers' point of view, and then talk about what forgiveness cost Joseph.
Invite someone from a restorative justice or mediation service to explain how they bring together people who have harmed and been harmed. Read Romans 12:21 and Qur'an 42:40.
Go deeper
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Department of Justice, South Africa) · article
- Collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery (Wikipedia) · article
- Joseph in the Torah, the Gospels and the Qur'an (this site) · article
- Qur'an 42:40 · scripture
- Leviticus 19 (JPS 1917) on Sefaria · scripture
- Romans 12 (WEB) on Bible Gateway · scripture
- Coventry Cathedral · place
Sources (4)
- 1992 cod moratorium; 35,000+ jobs from 400+ communities: Wikipedia, Collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery
- TRC chaired by Desmond Tutu; amnesty for disclosure: Department of Justice, South Africa; Wikipedia
- Ultimatum game: people reject unfair offers at a cost: Wikipedia, Ultimatum game (Güth et al. 1982)
- 'My mercy outweighs My anger': Sahih al-Bukhari 3194